Category Archives: Carmilla

SWC Backlist: Carmilla

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Carmilla_CoverContinuing our review of SWC’s backlist, today we look at our most popular illustrated classic, Carmilla. Written by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (Uncle Silas, In a Glass Darkly), this 19th-century vampiric romance has influenced generations of writers from Bram Stoker to Laurel K. Hamilton, and has been adapted for the screen many times, including Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses. The StarWarp Concepts edition features exclusive illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0).

It’s also part of the Pandora Zwieback “Paniverse,” since Carmilla’s House Karnstein is one of the vampire factions that appear in the novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 and the upcoming second book, Blood Reign. Here’s the synopsis:

Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the tale of Carmilla and Laura.

Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.

Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.

Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….

“The way Le Fanu blends together desire and predation is spellbinding. A true Gothic story, Carmilla is great fun.”—Gothic Beauty Magazine

“Carmilla is a must-read for any true fan of vampire fiction.”—LoveVampires.com

“Like many vampire romances, Carmilla and Laura’s love is doomed and unhealthy, but glorious.”—io9

Carmilla is on sale in print ($10.95 US) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million. The e-book ($2.99) is available from DriveThru Fiction. Both print and e-book formats can be purchased from the StarWarp Concepts webstore.

Visit the Carmilla product page for the sales links.

Now that I’ve gotten your attention with the first three parts of StarWarp Concepts’ review of backlist titles, are you Panatics interested in checking out the rest of its releases? Then tomorrow head on over to the SWC blog to learn about the dark-fantasy graphic novel Troubleshooters Incorporated: Night Stalkings. Written by the husband-and-wife team of Richard C. White and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, it’s the first adventure of a supernatural superhero-team-for-hire; the group consists of a wizard, a sorceress, a female ninja, an armored rock-n-roll roadie, and a werewolf—all fighting demons!

Please support StarWarp Concepts by purchasing one of our books. Thanks!

Coming tomorrow: Blood Reign, the second Pandora Zwieback novel, is on its way! But if you can’t stand the suspense of learning the outcome of Blood Feud’s cliffhanger ending, then stop by here tomorrow for some exciting news!

StarWarp Concepts Webstore Opens!

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It’s true— the SWC webstore is finally up and running! Now you can spare yourself the frustration of hunting down Pan’s adventures, and order them—as well as other StarWarp Concepts titles—directly from her publisher.

Currently available are print editions of Blood Feud, the classic vampire tale Carmilla (with illustrations by Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic artist Eliseu Gouveia), and The Bob Larkin Sketchbook (which features Pan on the cover). And since the sketchbook is an SWC exclusive not available in stores, the webstore’s the only place you’ll be able to get it—not counting when we sell it at conventions, of course.

Also:

The official Pandora Zwieback T-shirt! You asked for it (repeatedly) and now you’ve got it! Available in both men’s and women’s sizes, it’s the same devil-girl T that Pan wears on the cover of Blood Feud, and an essential piece of clothing for every budding Goth adventuress.

The Blood Feud Art Print! It’s Bob Larkin’s cover art for the first Pan novel—as you should be well familiar with by now—presented on 11” x 17” cardstock without text, and limited to 100 copies.

So, head on over to the StarWarp Concepts site and start ordering already—I gotta clear some space in this office!  😉

The Queen of Queens

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Well, this is a nice way to start off 2012—with further praise for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1! This time it’s from D. W. Jones of the online horror magazine Blood Moon Rising:

“Roman brings horror to NYC and spins a tale that keeps the reader enthralled….  I recommend this book for all horror readers and especially to young girls.”

The fact that Blood Moon Rising’s offices are based in Queens, NY—Pan’s home borough—makes the positive reaction all the sweeter. I mean, who doesn’t love a monster-fightin’ hometown girl?

You can read the entire review—as well as a review of Carmilla, StarWarp Concepts’ first classic reprint (with illustrations by The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic artist Eliseu Gouveia)—by clicking on the cover. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the magazine!

Blood Moon Rising is also the sponsor of The Institute of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction, a one-day gathering being held this March at the main branch of the Queens Public Library, which is located in Flushing—a neighborhood that is immune to all your petty, childish jokes about toilets, so don’t even bother!  😀  Click the link in the Events listings for more information on the show.

We Are Looking for the Brooklyn Queens

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Spread the word: The Brooklyn Book Festival is being held this Sunday, September 18th, at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza—and StarWarp Concepts will be in attendance!

BOOTH # 115 is where you’ll find me hawking all the Starwarp Concepts titles, accompanied by my buddy J. D. Calderon, author of the fantasy webcomics The Oswald Chronicles and Tall Tails. (J.D.’s just there to hang out, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking out his site.) It’ll be a good time for you to purchase copies of Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, Carmilla, and The Bob Larkin Sketchbook in case you’ve had any trouble tracking them down.

Swing by and pick up a free copy of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic book (print version) and Pan bookmarks—while supplies last, of course.

BOOTH #115 is located right in front of the Columbus Statue Garden, in the shadow of the Kings County Courthouse—and steps away from the Borough Hall subway entrance. You couldn’t ask for a more convenient location. Hope to see you there!

We’ve Got E-books!

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That’s right! Available for purchase right now from DriveThru Horror is the PDF edition of Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1!

Well, no, you can’t buy it for a dollar, but the low, low price of $4.99 is just as good, isn’t it? Of course it is!

Also available is J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampire classic Carmilla ($3.99!), which features six beautiful illustrations by resident Pandora Zwieback artist Eliseu Gouveia.

It’s a baby step into the 21st century for StarWarp Concepts, but we are working on other platform editions (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, etc.); I’ll have news on each one as they become available. For now, just click on the DriveThru logo above to check out the first two SWC releases!

CALLING ALL VAMPIRE LOVERS!

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As the ad copy over at StarWarp Concepts says: Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the tale of Carmilla and Laura.

CARMILLA is the classic, 19th-century novella of vampiric seduction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu that influenced Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and The ’Warp’s special edition features gorgeous black-and-white illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia, artist of the Pandora Zwieback e-comic. Here’s a sample:

Nice, huh? Carmilla is on sale right now at StarWarp Concepts, so head on over there for more information.

Carmilla has served as the inspiration for hundreds of novels, animated tales, comic books, and horror movies. Don’t believe me? Then check out the films The Vampire Lovers, Blood and Roses, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, The Batman vs. Dracula, even The Asylum’s schlockfest Vampires vs. Zombies!

(Actually, don’t check out that last one—it’s awful!)